obituary
Foreign Minister condoles Afsarul Ameen's death
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of former AL minister and lawmaker from Chattogram-10 constituency Afsarul Ameen.
In a condolence message on Friday, the Foreign Minister prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family members.
Afsarul Ameen breathed his last while undergoing treatment at a hospital in the capital around 4 pm. He was 73.
Ameen was elected MP three times with AL's tickets in 2008, 2014 and 2018 from his home constituency.
Former minister Afsarul Ameen passes away
Afsarul Ameen, a former AL minister and lawmaker from Chattogram-10 constituency passed away on Friday.
He was 73.
Afsarul Ameen, also vice president of Chittagong Metropolitan Awami League, breathed his last while undergoing treatment at a hospital in the capital around 4 pm, said his younger brother Arif Ameen.
He said that his elder brother was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2020. He received treatment in Singapore. Later, he was brought to the country and given treatment at a private hospital in Dhaka.
He was elected MP three times with AL's tickets in 2008, 2014 and 2018 from his home constituency.
He was first made shipping minister and later given charge of the primary and mass education ministries.
Former chief justice Habibur Rahman’s wife Islama Rahman no more
Islama Rahman, wife of former chief justice and caretaker government head Mohammad Habibur Rahman, died of cardiac arrest on Wednesday afternoon.
She was admitted to United Hospital after cardiac arrest on May 5 and breathed her last around 1 pm.
She will be buried at Banani graveyard in her husband's grave after namaje janaza at Azad Mosque after Ars prayers.
Late Islama left three daughters, one son- in-law, a grandson and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn her death.
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DCCI’s former president Shahjahan Khan no more
Mohammad Shahjahan Khan, former President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, breathed his last on Monday, 22nd May, in Bangkok, Thailand.
He died at 11:40 pm Bangladesh time while undergoing treatment in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, He was 73 years old, said a press release of DCCI.
Shahjahan Khan served as president of DCCI in 2014. In addition, he was the senior vice president of Dhaka Chamber in 2007 and 2010. He was the Managing Director (MD) of SS Shipping and Trading Limited and SS Shipping and Chartering Limited. His company is involved in the seagoing ship business.
President of DCCI Barrister Md. Sameer Sattar and members of the Board of Directors mourn and express their deep condolences for the death of Shahjahan Khan.
Actor Farooque no more
Legendary actor and parliamentary member Akbar Hossain Pathan, popularly known as Farooque, passed away on Monday. He was 75.
He breathed his last at 8:30 am while undergoing treatment in Singapore, Farooque’s niece told UNB.
Actor Farooque, who is also a freedom fighter, film producer and businessman, was undergoing treatment in Singapore for a long time. His body will be brought to Dhaka on Tuesday morning.
He was elected MP from Dhaka-17 constituency in the last national election.
Farooque made his debut on the big screen in H Akbar's film "Jolchhobi." His performance in Lathiyal earned him the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1975.
He is known as 'Mia Bhai' to mass people. He appeared in over 150 films in a career spanning more than five decades.
Former director of Eastland Insurance Company Limited dies
Nasiruddin Ahmed (90), a former director of Eastland Insurance Company Limited died of old-age complications at 4:53 pm on Sunday (14 May 2023) at Evercare Hospital, Dhaka.
He retired as the General Manager of Mitsui & Company in the late '70s. He was also associated with several social organizations. Late Ahmed is the eldest brother of Mr. Mahbubur Rahman, President, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – Bangladesh.
Late Ahmed's Namaj-e-Janaza will be held tomorrow (Monday 15 May) at Ramna Thana Jame Masjid after Zohr prayer. After that he will be laid to rest in the Banani Graveyard.
He left behind his wife, four daughters, grand-children and a host of relatives & well-wishers to mourn his death.
Renowned economist Prof. Nurul Islam passes away in Washington
Prominent economist Professor Nurul Islam, who headed the country's first Planning Commission as deputy chairman, has passed away. He died of a heart attack at around 12 pm (local time) in Washington, DC yesterday.
Professor Adnan Morshed of the Catholic University of America in Washington, USA, confirmed the matter around 6:30pm (BdST).
Professor Islam was serving as an Emeritus Fellow of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) until his death. In 1987, he joined the organization as Senior Policy Adviser to the Director General.
During his long career, Prof. Nurul Islam served as Assistant Director-General of the Economic and Social Policy Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Apart from this, he was the chairman of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Research (BIDS). He was a professor at the Economics Department of Dhaka University.
Prof. Islam completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Economics from Dhaka University and did his PhD from Harvard University, United States.
He has served as a visiting academic in various reputed universities of the world. Notable among them are Yale, Oxford, Cambridge and the London School of Economics.
Home Minister mourns Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury's death
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Tuesday expressed deep shock and grief at the death of Gonoshasthya Kendra founder and freedom fighter Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury.
In a message, the minister prayed for his departed soul and expressed his deepest condolences to the bereaved family.
Read more: Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury no more
Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 81.
He breathed his last around 11 pm at Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital, said GSK press adviser Jahangir Alam Mintu.
Earlier on Monday morning the veteran physician was put on life support at the hospital as his health condition deteriorated.
Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury had long been suffering from kidney-related complications.
Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury no more
Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder and freedom fighter Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury passed away on Tuesday night. He was 81.
Dr Zafrullah breathed his last around 11 pm at Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital, said GSK press adviser Jahangir Alam Mintu.
Read more: Home Minister mourns Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury's death
Earlier on Monday morning the veteran physician was put on life support at the hospital as his health condition deteriorated.
A medical board, led by Professor Brigadier General (Retd) Dr Mamun Mustafi, was formed on Sunday.
Dr Zafrullah had long been suffering from kidney-related complications.
Zafrullah Chowdhury was in the UK for his post-graduate studies in medicine when the War of Liberation broke out in 1971. Still barely 30 years old, he would return to set up, in collaboration with Captain Akhtar Ahmed, the Bangladesh Field Hospital, a 480-bed facility for freedom fighters and the refugees.
Run by a team of Bangladeshi doctors, medical students and volunteers, and women with no previous training in healthcare who were trained within days to help out the patients, it was the only one of its kind. The idea behind that revolutionary offering evolved into a philosophy for public health delivery after independence, when Gonoshasthya Kendra was born.
He was also the architect of the country's first National Drug Policy, adopted in 1982, that is still felt to be a central instrument in the country's success in the field of public health - an unforgivingly difficult task for the size of the population in Bangladesh.Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury was born on December 27, 1941. He spent his early childhood in Kolkata and later his family settled in Bangladesh. He founded the Gonoshasthya Kendra in 1972. The proposal was first presented in a concept paper in Dhaka titled "Basic Health Care in Rural Bangladesh."
Zafrullah was his parents' 10th child. After finishing his education at Nabakumar School in Bakshibazar, he attended Dhaka College. He became acquainted with communist political views while attending Dhaka Medical College to study medicine.
He completed his MBBS degree in 1964 and moved to the UK to pursue post-graduate studies in general and vascular surgery but returned to fight the war, using his background to set up the Bangladesh Field Hospital.
In 1985, he won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in Community Leadership category for his work on the Drug Policy 1982.
He received the Right Livelihood Prize in 1992 for his exceptional work for health and human development.
While constrained in scope, GK was a pioneer in the development of less expensive generic medications. A Rural Healthcare Insurance System was initially implemented in Bangladesh by Gonoshasthaya Kendra in 1973 under Zafrullah’s leadership.
He was recognised as an International Public Health Hero by UC Berkeley, one of the most reputed public universities in the US, in 2010.
Zafrullah Chowdhury endeared himself to the public by living a very simple life, yet never backing down from speaking his conscience in the public interest.
This meant although he was never directly involved in any political party, he was inevitably drawn into the political arena to talk about different political issues.
He did play a key role in the formation of BNP-led Jatiya Oikyafront before the 2018 election, and towards the end became known as a critic of the Awami League government.
But his overall life's work cannot be held to be partisan, and there were plenty of occasions when his views clashed with the BNP as well.
Metro rail: Shewrapara, Uttara South stations now open to public
Metro rail’s Shewrapara and Uttara South stations opened to the public on Friday.
With the opening of the two stations, all 9 stations on the Uttara-Agargaon route are now operational.
Meanwhile, MAN Siddique, the managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) said metro rail will run from 8 am to 2 pm instead of 8:30 am to 12:30 pm from April 5.
“Considering the passengers' demand and aiming to provide more services, the timing has been changed,” he said in a press conference on Thursday.
He also said the metro rail will start in full swing from July this year and people can enjoy the metro service from dawn to midnight.
Read more: Metro rail to run following new schedule from April 5
According to DMTCL, the operation from Uttara to Motijheel may start by the end of 2024, and Kamalapur by 2025. By December 2024, the metro rail will start operation from Agargaon to Kamalapur route with 24 trains.
On December 28, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the country's first-ever elevated metro rail, setting a communication milestone in the country.